to the republican plan he rejected. >> we need a response from the white house. we can't sit here and negotiate with ourselves. >> reporter: the president and boehner spoke on the phone wednesday but republicans want more. >> we want to sit down with the. we want to talk specifics. >> reporter: whether the talks happen on the phone or in person, here on capitol hill or at the white house, there will be no deal without a compromise on taxes, something that does not appear likely any time soon. >> an obsession to raise taxes is not going to solve the problem. >> reporter: treasury secretary timothy geithner said the white house is absolutely willing to go over the fiscal cliff if the g.o.p. doesn't agree to raise taxes on the top 2% of earners. while a handful of republicans appears willing to concede that point, the party's position seems unchangeable. >> speaker boehner took a position i think the day aft campaign that said we're willing to bring in revenue but we're not willing to increase rates. >> reporter: the president says if republicans will concede the po